Aunt Marjie

This is Aunt Marjie and Mataka in front of Mataka's house in Luveve. Marjie is the second daughter and hostess of this home. She wears the typical  dress of a Zimbabwe woman  -- a modest 1950s British look. Colorful tribal costumes are not in vogue in Zimbabwe. Mataka, as always, wears a coat and tie, emblematic of his working life as a clerk in the law courts.

Aunt Marjie hosts a shabeen at the Mataka house. This is a private, by-invitation beer drinking establishment, favored by men who wish to avoid the large crowds at the local beer hall. Shabeens are  a widespread African tradition.

Aunt Marjie is also a nyanga or witch doctor, but only in training as she would quickly say. She might show you ,or give you, or sell you, some herbs that she has collected for this profession.

Mataka has five daughter -- you will hear about the others later.